Converting a 2 door Toledo to take Sprint mechanicals etc

[gmsclassics]

I've always fancied a 2 door Toledo and converting it to take a Sprint engine / g'box / axle. Something I always though BL should have done so they were more competitive on the track against Escorts.

This has come up so I started wondering how complicated it would in fact be. Looks a fairly solid and straight car. I must admit to knowing very little about the Toledo and what and how much is actually interchangeable with the Dolomite.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-c ... 601641.htm

Anyone done this or can enlighten me please?

Geoff

[tony g]

its been done lots of times, Subframe from sprint bolts straight up and so does axle etc. Its basically a dolomite with a short boot and rear wings. Not sure about curved dash though, have a feeling the metal structure dash is different but could be modded I guess. Would need sprint tunnel too.

Cheers

Tony

[Jon Tilson]

Not an uncommon conversion up here in the UK. We have an occasional contributor who has one and I did some work with him a few moons ago now. Its just the same as converting any dolomite to Sprint spec. Sub frame, tunnel, diff engine and box and load sensing valve are the major things and if you have the Sprint curved dash heater and front wiring loom too that will help massively.

Go for it...makes a nice car. BL should indeed have made it themselves.

Jonners

[Carledo]

The only bit that doesn't swap is the fuel tank! For obvious reasons you are stuck with the smaller Toledo fuel tank. There are some shell differences which complicate fitting of the curved dash but it's do-able, though not a straight swap. If you swap the dash, you also have to swap the heater box to suit.

Of course, if you are building a competition car, with an alloy fuel cell, full cage, home made dash and no heater, none of this matters!

One small point, having built a street/track 2 door myself, all you know about spring rates from racing a Sprint, go out the window with the shorter lighter 2 door body!

The other thing worth bearing in mind is that AFAIK, the factory never homologated a 2 door version, which might complicate things if you race in a class where this matters!

Alolympic of this forum is just one of several known to have completed a Sprinted 2 door and there is a green one floating about still, with Ford XR3i Injected Sprint motor, not sure of the current owners name, as it has changed hands about 4 times since I first saw it in 2012!

Steve

[xvivalve]

The hard part is finding a decent two door Toledo!

[gmsclassics]

So I go to buy the car and the listing has disappeared.......... says the listing has expired, but no sign of it being relisted.

Just goes to show, if its a good buy, someone will.

Geoff

[uphill racer]

I did this to the car that Dolly-Nut uses for track days - it was my rally car in the early 2000s.

Absolutely agree with all the above. It's a very straightforward conversion; everything you need to fit it, are straight off the donor Dolomite Sprint.

Small points to add:

You MAY have to drill out the mounting points at the back of the gearbox space, for the small GB cross-member. Might be worth plating the mounting points too if you plan anything serious with the car such as rallying.

The curved fascia requires new brackets made/attached to the scuttle at the bottom of the windscreen, the mounting points for the Toledo flat fascia don't align.

You will also want to transfer the Dolomite steering column as well as the heater controls and so on; the Dolomite column will (a.) align properly to the mounts on the fascia, and (b.) carry the switchgear for lights, wipers etc. You will probably also want the 2-speed wiper motor.

Dolomite front loom is pretty much essential - if you can't transfer it from the donor, you will need to make up a comprehensive replica


BL ST of course never homologated the 2-door Toledo Sprint, though one Ian "Del" Lines of Atlantic Garage in Weston Super Mare built his own *at the time*, which can provide historic provenance for a "replica" to make it legitimate for current historic racing/rallying. He at the last count was still alive and kicking, though I believe he lives in Spain these days. He was until recently still involved with the Rover SD1 owners' club.

[uphill racer]

PS memory says 350lb/in at the front, 275/225 lb/in dual rate at the back.

But it was quite tail-happy, particularly so once I got the Detroit Locker diff in it

[Carledo]

You MAY have to drill out the mounting points at the back of the gearbox space, for the small GB cross-member. Might be worth plating the mounting points too if you plan anything serious with the car such as rallying.

You will also want to transfer the Dolomite steering column as well as the heater controls and so on; the Dolomite column will (a.) align properly to the mounts on the fascia, and (b.) carry the switchgear for lights, wipers etc. You will probably also want the 2-speed wiper motor.

My December 73 model Toledo already has the holes drilled for the gearbox crossmember, I used them for my own fabricated one for the Omega gearbox I used! Earlier cars may not be so blessed!

It also has a 2 speed wiper motor that is not fitted to earlier cars, I caught a crab here with my conversion as I saved the Sprint motor from my donor car, intending to use it (so the plugs would match the Sprint loom) only to find that the hole spacing for the motor in the mounting plate in the bulkhead were different! And of course, i'd already junked the mounting plate with the donor shell!

I managed to fit a Sprint column to a flat dash crashpad with the simple addition of 2x 1/2" spacers between the column bracket and the crash pad plus longer bolts, don't think it would be do-able the other way round though so yes, a Sprint column would be needed with a curved dash (let alone for having somewhere to put all the switches)

On the suspension front, I run only stock Sprint front springs (140lb?) and the original stock Toledo springs (poundage unknown but VERY soft) on the rear, to go with my ASP and adjustable Gaz coilovers. I tried it on stock Sprint rear springs and it was so hard it just hopped round corners, especially on anything less than perfectly smooth tarmac (something there is a total dearth of in my neighbourhood)
I can't pretend that my results have any bearing on how a Sprint powered car would or should be set up though, as my Vauxhall engine/ trans setup is more than 40kg lighter than the Sprint equivalent and 4" further back to boot! But I find the more compliant ride both more comfortable (must be getting old) and more balanced!

Steve

[uphill racer]

(must be getting old)

Steve

I couldn't POSSIBLY comment

[uphill racer]

On the suspension front, I run only stock Sprint front springs (140lb?) and the original stock Toledo springs (poundage unknown but VERY soft) on the rear, to go with my ASP and adjustable Gaz coilovers. I tried it on stock Sprint rear springs and it was so hard it just hopped round corners, especially on anything less than perfectly smooth tarmac (something there is a total dearth of in my neighbourhood)


Steve

The Trolley was certainly quite skittish, but LOTS of fun to drive. In hindsight the suspension (I had those springs custom made by one of the coil spring manufacturers in Sheffield) could have usefully been a bit softer, but it was built as a tarmac rally car** rather than for forestry or road use.

** and heavily seam-welded, plus some judicious plating here and there.

Interestingly I have just scanned in the Autocar "road test" of the works Gp1/Gp2 rally cars and they claimed that the suspension was pretty standard apart from Bilstein dampers - which suggests that the springs were VERY soft by modern standards...